Filipino Americans lean towards Romney

Based on the findings of the 2012 National Asian American Survey (NAAS), Filipinos are showing the most support for presidential candidate Mitt Romney among all Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) racial groups.

According to the survey, the 38 percent of Filipinos supporting the former Massachusetts governor is the strongest degree of endorsement for Romney among all AAPIs.

Among Filipinos, 27 percent identify themselves as Republicans, while only 24 percent identify themselves as Democrats. Meanwhile, almost half of Filipinos (45 percent) claim to be independent or non-partisan.

Filipinos who identify themselves as Republicans outnumber those who identify themselves as Democrats. The survey also found that a larger portion of Filipinos now identify with the Republican Party than any other Asian American group. This sudden growth of Republican support is a big shift from prior surveys, according to the NAAS.

In 2008, 50 percent of the Filipino community voted for President Barack Obama (the Democrat candidate back then) while 46 percent voted for Republican Senator John McCain.

In contrast to this previous trend, Filipino voters who prefer Gov. Romney now outnumber those who prefer a second term for Pres. Obama.

In a US average obtained from an average of polls in RealClearPolitics, the NAAS pointed out that 38 percent of Filipinos prefer to vote for Romney, while only 32 percent expressed their preference for Obama. About 28 percent remain undecided, while the remaining 2 percent gave a different answer.

According to the NAAS website (www.naasurvey.com), it is a scientific and nonpartisan effort to gauge the opinions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It started its first survey in 2008, which focused primarily on issues of civic engagement and political participation.

Currently, the NAAS is in partnership with various community organizations to provide an in-depth look at where AAPIs stand on a variety of important public policy issues.